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You’d forgive any South Koreans who slept through it, but their country – often deemed one of modern Asia’s most stable democracies – experienced a short-lived power grab this week. President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law around 10:20pm local time on Dec. 3, citing the threat of pro-North Korean and anti-state forces. Six hours later, and under immense pressure, Yoon lifted the emergency measure.
Astonishing though the events were, they were not unprecedented. Indeed, there have been 46 “self-coups” in democracies since the end of World War II, according to a database compiled by John Joseph Chin and Joe Wright, experts on authoritarian politics. Their research shows that instances of incumbent leaders attempting to grab more power or extend their term limits have become more common in the past decade. And in 80% of cases, the self-coupist has succeeded.
So what went wrong with Yoon’s gambit? For starters, it appears he never secured the support among military and party elites needed, and even those who did support Yoon must have had second thoughts in the face of immediate domestic opposition and growing international condemnation. Added to that, “self-coups don’t typically happen in long-established democracies,” write Chin and Wright. And South Korea has had decades of democratic rule.
So why did he even attempt a self-coup? Myunghee Lee, a scholar of authoritarianism, democracy and South Korean politics, offers: “He presides over a divided party, a gridlocked parliament and a population in which he has become very unpopular … I think Yoon declared martial law out of anger − he was angry, and resentful at the opposition blocking him repeatedly.”
Elsewhere this week, we have been keeping an eye on France’s political woes and celebrating Hello Kitty as she turns 50.
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